The Bulgarian Navy will receive two patrol boats from the Lürssen portfolio. On November 12th, the Bulgarian Defense Minister Krassimir Karakachanov signed a corresponding contract with the Bremen-based Fr. Lürssen Group. “Today is an important day for the Navy. With this project we have taken the second step towards modernizing the Bulgarian army after signing the contract for the new fighter. I hope it's not the last," said Karakachanov when signing the contract.
He refers to Bulgaria's modernization program for the armed forces. In 2019, Sofia ordered eight F-16 Block 70 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin, six single-seat fighter jets and two two-seat aircraft. The contract also covers the training of aircraft crews and armament. According to the national plan from 2017, Bulgaria wants to fulfill the NATO decision to spend two percent of gross domestic product on defense by 2024. In 2020 the proportion will be 1.93 percent, in 2015 the country was 1.25 percent (information: NATO, October 2020).
The sparse information provided by the Bulgarian Ministry of Defense suggests that the “multipurpose modular patrol vessels” (MMPV) mentioned in the Bulgarian communiqué could be a derivative of the Lürssen Offshore Patrol Vessel 90. No comment was received from Bremen. On its website, Lürssen-Defence describes its Offshore Patrol Vessel 90 as a helicopter-capable surface unit with a displacement of 2,100 tons, which is 90 meters long and 14 meters wide. The following possible armament variants are given: artillery: 76 mm or 57 mm, plus two 20 mm guns, four MM40 Exocet anti-ship missiles or four RBS 15 or four NSM. VLS MK56 or RAM can be installed for air defense.
The boats are scheduled to be built by the Bulgarian MGT Dolphin shipyard in Varna and delivered in 2025 and 2026. The price of 984 million leva (approx. 503 million euros) should also include training.
This is an important conclusion for the German shipyard group. On the Black Sea, the shipyards Damen, Fincantieri and Naval Group are competing for contracts in naval shipbuilding. Damen and Fincantieri have local offices in Romania. Damen Shipyards Galati, Romania, according to a company statement, has manufactured more than 40 ships for defense or other sovereign tasks.
The market is hotly contested. On November 12, PNS “Tabuk”, a corvette from Damen’s Offshore Patrol Versel series, was handed over to the Pakistan Navy.
Hans Uwe Mergener
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